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Instructions for Mirror Deck Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game. v 1.0

or What to do with all the duplicates you have accumulated.


INTRODUCTION:

Although Decipher has made efforts to minimize the existence of “trash cards” in ST:TNG-CCG, a great number of duplicates will be acquired by anyone who is avidly seeking uncommon and rare cards. Rather than see these as useless, they may be employed in a mirror-deck game that offers an interesting variation on the standard game.

The basic idea is to construct two identical decks that are much larger in size than a standard deck (200-300 cards or more--Decipher is gonna love this variation!), and that contain all cards of which one has duplicates. Both players have identical decks.

This changes the game in a number of interesting ways:

  • Owning a superior deck with killer cards no longer determines the winner. The players are on an equal playing field. Both luck and strategy become more important than how powerful a deck one owns, although the role of strategy in deck selection is eliminated. Since the whole deck does not get used in one game, many games can be played without changing the decks, and each game will play differently with its own pacing and twists and turns

  • Cards that one would not usually bother with, because they seem weak, or get excluded in favor of other cards, get played.

  • Most importantly, the game can be played with a friend who does not have a deck.

    I have done this using the procedures below with decks of over 250 cards each, and have found the game playable and enjoyable. ST:TNG-CCG is a game that invites players to make up variations. I have suggested a few in brackets.

    DECK CUSTOMIZING:

    Separate the seed cards (Missions, Dilemmas, Artifacts, and Outposts) from the rest of the deck. Make a pair of identical seed card decks. Decide whether you want to include Artifacts, or killer cards, or balance them out as you assemble the decks. You may want to be selective about Missions (e.g., to balance space and planet missions), but include as many as possible. Similarly, include as many Dilemmas as possible--16 to 20 is about right if 8 Missions each are used in play. Some Dilemmas can be duplicated in each deck (e.g., Male and Female Love Interest) as these can still affect an Away Team even if they have met the Dilemma before. Include, if possible all three Outposts in each deck.

    Make up two identical play decks, starting with every card for which you have duplicates. If you have a great many cards, you will be able to put more than one of a given card in each deck. Certainly Wormholes, Equipment, Treaties, and most Interrupts are cards for which one could have more than one in each deck. I found that duplicating all the universal Romulan Personnel, and many Klingon Ships helped to balance the affiliations. You can include killer cards, if you wish, but you may want to do this only if these are balanced by cards that can nullify them. <Variation: Make up decks with only common cards. Try completing Federation Missions with crews of Giusti, Simon Tarses, Taitt, Darian Wallace, etc.!>

    SETUP:

    Each player starts with identical decks. Each player separates the Mission cards and shuffles them. Each then counts off 8 Missions. These are then placed alternately on the timeline in the usual fashion. <Variation: Each player chooses 8 Missions from those in the deck, rather than the random selection just described.>

    The Dilemmas and Artifacts, then the Outposts, are placed following the usual procedure.

    PLAY:

    Play is as usual, except the the goal of the game should be set to 200 points. <All the usual variations in goal-setting may be used here.>

    Although there are more Missions, and a larger goal, the game takes about the same amount of time, since no time is spent customizing the deck.

    A lot more cards get played. Make sure you have a large table!

    STRATEGY:

    The large deck makes several differences in play.

  • Many more Personnel cards with less power are likely to appear. This makes a “Red Shirt” strategy more likely.

  • Certain cards are more likely to get played. Anti-time Anomaly, for instance, can be used more readily knowing that there is a large (essentially inexhaustible) draw deck from which personnel will be replenished.

  • Not knowing which Affiliation will be the first to be able to attempt Missions, or will be the strongest in the game, a player may want to hold Unaffiliated Personnel and Ships in one’s hand until the dominant Affiliation becomes clear.

    Copyright 1995, Willie Kai Yee, M.D.; Permission for distribution on the World Wide Web is given provided proper attribution is given. This file may be downloaded, printed, and reproduced for noncommercial purposes. All other rights reserved.


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